The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-07-02
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION.
Early History of the Organization-Its
Officers, &C., sc.
BALTIMORE County. June goth,

BALTIMORE COUNTY, June goth, 1887.
Messrs. Editors The announcement made in
last weeks UNION by Mr.. Thomas G. Bruff, chair
man of the executive committee of the State
Teachers Association meeting at Old Point Com
fort, brings to mind the organization of that
citation, which perhaps would be Of interest to
many.
The Baltimore County Teachers Association met
in the old county building on Calvert street. where
the new U. S. postofice is being erected. Mr.. R.
G. McGinn was then County Examiner, Mr.. Ring
gold was president of the Baltimore County Teach
ers' Association, your correspondent was chair
man of the business committee. On Saturday
morning had gone out on the steps when Prof.
Hollingshead, principal of the Western Female
High School, came walking leisurely by. ac-
costed him thus: "Well, Professor, how is it all
the other states in the Union that have system
of public instruction in them have State Teachers
Associations except Maryland" "Well," replied
Prof. Hollingshead, "the thought never struck me
before. We ought to have" We then and there
concluded to bring it before the County Associa-
ton, but before it could be done the Association
adjourned. He being chairman of the business
committee of the Baltimore City Teachers Asso-
citation, invited our committee to visit the City
Teachers Association on the following Wednes-
day, at the Eastern High School building, which
the county committee did. The City Association
appointed five to form joint committee to call
convention of the teachers of the State. The joint
committee met in the Office of Mr.. Horace Soper,
treasurer of the County School Board, and organ
lied with T. D. Baird, LII. D. D., principal of
the Baltimore City College, chairman, and your
correspondent, secretary. At this time the State
Board of Education and the School Board of Bal
timore were at law about the text books, which
made it quite difficult to call convention of the
teachers. So the committee met eleven times in
the Baltimore City College, when it was decided
to issue circular and invite the teachers of the
State to meet in convention between Christmas
and New Year, in the Western High School build
ing. Messrs. McGinn, VIM. Soper and myself ad-
dressed and mailed about twenty three hundred
invitations to the teachers of the State the fol-
lowing Saturday. The convention met at the time
and place specified. The city and all the counties
were we'll represented. Prof. Thomas D. Baird
was made president of the convention and Mr..
Webster, secretary. After the organization and
the adoption of a constitution and bylaws was
reached, serious difficulty arose, which grew out
of the pending suit between the two School Boards.
The city teachers were opposed to admitting the
State Board as even honorary members of the As
ISOLATION, while the county teachers were. Prof.
Newell, of the State Normal School, R. C. McGinn,
and other County Examiners, took sides with the
county teachers, and when it was ascertained that
the article admitting the State Board of Education
as honorary members could not be adopted the
teachers of all except one county in the State
withdrew from the convention and marched in q
body down to the county building, where DR.. Van
Bokkelen, State Superintendent, was called for and
made stirring speech. Before he was through
a committee was sent from the convention request
ing the county teachers to return, and the article
admitting the State Board to honorary member
ship should be adopted as the county teachers de-
sired. After their return everything went on
smoothly and many of the teachers will remember
with joy the week the Association spent at Annap-
oils the following July, and the kindness Of the
cadets of the Naval Academy in showing the
members the sights, especially the old war vessels
and monitors. T.